


After the Institute

by tamrielic



Series: Let's Get This Freakshow On The Road [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 15:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20391793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamrielic/pseuds/tamrielic
Summary: I'm attempting to get back into writing, so here's an extremely clumsy oneshot featuring my beloved and favorite Sole Survivor, Candace Monroe.





	After the Institute

**Author's Note:**

> I'm attempting to get back into writing, so here's an extremely clumsy oneshot featuring my beloved and favorite Sole Survivor, Candace Monroe.

It was nearing dusk when Candace stumbled through the door into Goodneighbor, clothes and metal armor stained with blood and other unmentionable fluids, her thoughts completely scattered and her mind running a mile a minute and hoping against hope that she wouldn't be noticed or at least not recognized in her attire that she'd specifically worn to blend in with the other denizens of the Commonwealth.

“Long time since you’ve been around these parts, Candace - it’s good to see you!” Daisy said as she finished sweeping the front of her shop, looking kindly upon the vault dweller.

She forced a smile and nodded in greeting, cursing herself for not even thinking to consider Daisy recognizing her and making note of her return to Goodneighbor, before turning and walking briskly into the alley and towards the Hotel Rexford. Just as she turned the corner to cross in front of The Third Rail, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind. She spun, hands already reaching for her revolver, but after discovering the identity of her assailant she immediately dropped her hands back to her sides and frowned.

Fahrenheit stood there, staring her down and seemingly impatient, one hand on her hip and the other still gripping her shoulder none too gently.

“Fancy seeing you here, Pawn. You oughta go see Hancock. _ Now _.”

She continued frowning, unsure as to how Hancock could have possibly figured out what had gone down within the past few weeks but at the same time confused as to what else he’d possibly have to discuss with her.

“I’ll head right up.” She eventually said, sighing in defeat and shrugging the hand off of her shoulder as Fahrenheit continued staring at her for a moment before stepping away.

She opened the door to the State House and slowly made her way up the stairs, avoiding any eye contact with the unusually silent Neighborhood Watch, her anxiety building the entire way up.

Hancock was standing with his arms crossed at the window as she entered the room, staring out into the encroaching darkness.

She stood there silently for what felt like hours but what was actually only a minute or two, finally deciding to be the first to speak.

“Hey, Hancock.” She said, unconsciously shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

He didn’t turn around, but uncrossed his arms and grunted, “Sunshine.”

She blinked, not sure where to go from there. “Fahrenheit said you wanted to talk with me?”

“Sure did. Curious that you’re back now, since you ain’t been by in quite a while.” He said, finally turning around and looking right into her eyes with an inscrutable expression.

“I was passing through and figured I’d stop and rest for a while at the Rexford.” She offered lamely. “... is that okay?” She added after seeing his expression change from blank to amused.

“You and I both know that you’re not a very good liar.” He snarked, eyes leaving hers and slowly drifting over her in a scrutinizing manner. “You’re not looking so hot, Sunshine, what happened?”

Candace immediately stiffened and attempted to not be avoiding the topic of conversation. “I’m fine, just tired from travelling a lot.” 

Hancock’s eyes continued to drill into her, a scowl forming on his face at her response. “Bullshit.” He snapped at her, suddenly stalking up to her and grasping her upper arms in a way that was entirely the opposite of the way his bodyguard had earlier - his hands were practically caressing her and she simply stood there, gaping at him in silence while his eyes pleaded with her to be honest and open with him.

She let out an unsteady breath and tried to get her bearings, shakily reaching up to grasp his wrists as he remained holding onto her arms. She inhaled deeply and launched into her long-winded explanation.

“I worked with The Railroad as well as The Minutemen to build a teleportation relay to enter The Institute and rescue my son.” She muttered, clenching her eyes shut.

“Except it turns out that my son is actually 63 years old and the leader of the very organization who killed his father and stole him away in the first place?" She let out a small hysterical laugh as tears formed in her eyes, "I was forced to play nice and pretend to support him, and eventually he let me come back to the Commonwealth.”

She broke off to inhale again and opened her eyes to look back up at him. “I was running a supply run from The Castle to Sanctuary when our caravan got attacked by Super Mutants. I covered for them while they all got away, but I lost track of them and somehow ended up here. I was accosted by Fahrenheit and so… here I am. I’m sorry, this is so much and I should just… go.”

Resigned, she shrugged his hands off of her and took a large step backwards and glared at the discolored and fraying carpet, the tears silently falling down her cheeks after her release of words and emotions.

Hancock gave a low whistle. “That’s… a lot. But you don’t gotta run off. You’re always welcome here, especially after that shitshow.” He strode forward and threw his arm around her shoulders, determinedly leading her to the couch and sitting them both down on it without ever removing his arm from around her.

“I… thank you, John.” She breathed, giving in to her exhausted body and leaning heavily against his side.

He laughed and she could feel the vibrations against her cheek. “Anytime, Sunshine.”

* * *

She awoke to a hand brushing her hair back from where it had fallen into her face. It took her a moment to recall the events up to this point, but once she realized where she was and that she was safe she sighed and unconsciously nuzzled into the hand.

A soft chuckle was heard then, and a rough voice roused her further out of her drowsiness.

“I think we should get some food in you, don’t you think?”

She opened her eyes at the same time her stomach let out a loud growl. She flushed and laughed awkwardly while extracting herself from his grip and stood up from the couch with a big stretch.

“Sounds good, evidently.”

Hancock stood up and walked over to the little kitchenette in his living area, opening a cupboard and pulling out a box of Sugar Bombs and pouring some into a small bowl, then walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of brahmin milk and poured some of that in the bowl as well. Sliding it closer to her general direction on the counter, he then leaned against it and watched her.

She shuffled over and gratefully picked up the bowl from the counter, snatching a clean spoon out of the sink and immediately shoveling a spoonful in her mouth when a large pang of hunger hit her at the sight of food.

After a few spoonfuls she glanced up at him and swallowed. “Thank you. You don’t have to wait on me and take care of me, though.”

“But what if I want to?” He replied, staring at her with half lidded eyes.

Finishing her cereal, she placed the empty bowl in the sink next to him and then glanced at him, nervousness flooding her expression. “You shouldn’t after all I’ve done. We were close friends before I basically up and vanished without any explanation. You deserve better, John. I’m a… I’m a huge mess.” She chided.

He continued staring at her until she looked away and then sauntered right up to her, reaching up and taking hold of her chin in his hand. “Friends, huh? I seem to recall that we were workin’ up to more than that.”

She blinked and opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally stammering, “I didn’t think you’d want to acknowledge that anymore.”

“I'm not ready to give up on a good thing just yet. But I need you to show me you aren't ready to give up either. Don’t get me wrong, Sunshine, I’m real damn mad that you went and did all this without telling me about any of it, but that ain’t going to change anything.” He murmured, sliding his other hand up to cradle her jaw.

Her face felt like it was on fire. “Wouldn't expect that kind of lapse in judgement from you. But I guess that works out for me then, doesn't it?” She whispered, staring hopefully into his dark eyes.

Smirking, he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers. “Just don't make me go through this again, alright? Promise me that you won’t keep me in the dark about things.”

“I won’t. Promise. I’ve fallen for you, John.” She declared, clinging to his coat while simultaneously pulling him closer.

His smirk morphed into a soft smile. “Heh. Moments like this, I know all that karma stuff is bull.”

She decided to bite the proverbial bullet and tugged him into her and pressed her lips to his. He inhaled sharply through his nose and then moved his arms from hers to wrap them around her waist as he moved his mouth against hers.

Eventually the need for air overrode the need to feel his lips against her own, so she broke away with a soft gasp and a wide smile.

"Not gonna lie, I've been wanting to do that for a long time now."

He took her face in his hands. "Me too, Sunshine. Me too." He said softly, before leaning in again and pressing another kiss to her smiling lips.

She gave an involuntary noise of assent and he groaned low in his throat, slowly deepening the kiss to be much less chaste. Overwhelmed with feelings and wanting to be as close to him as possible, she jumped back and up onto the countertop and threw her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him as much as she could.

He leaned into her, grumbling at her bulky metal armor. "What's with this getup anyways?" He said as he moved his head down so he could kiss her jawline.

"I didn't want to be recognized easily," She gasped, "I'm not the same person I was before all of this shit with infiltrating the Institute happened."

He frowned but continued mouthing at her skin, unable to bring himself to stop.

"It is heavy and unflattering though. I think it would look better on your floor." She blurted as she realized how much his proximity entirely demolished her filter and how much she had just opened up to him.

His kisses were interrupted by a loud snort from him at her awkward attempt at humor followed by a long sigh as he took a small step backwards and closed his eyes tightly before opening them and gazing at her wistfully.

"As much as I hate to leave you wanting, I don't think we should do this right now. You've been through some real shit, Sunshine, and I don't want you to regret anything."

She stared at him, uncomprehending. "What?"

He reached up with one hand and touched his fingertips to her cheek, eyes dark and unfathomable. "Don't think of it as a rejection, because it ain't that. It's a raincheck for later when you're in a better headspace."

"Oh. Okay. Yeah. Raincheck, got it."

She blinked and nodded slowly, grasping both of his hands in her own and squeezing lightly.

He gently squeezed back, lips lifting in a smirk again. "Let's let the anticipation build, huh?"

Laughing, she smirked back at him and hopped off the counter. "Makes sense, I guess."

"What do you say we have some real food sent up by good ol' Charlie and you can tell me more about what happened?" He urged.

"That's a good idea. No guarantees that I won't get emotional, though. Again." She relented, walking them both to return to sitting on the couch.

He smiled and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead, chuckling. "No complaints there, sweetheart."

She grinned and reclined back into his side again, snuggling under his arm and taking a deep breath.

"Okay, so it was super disorienting at first, teleportation I mean…"

She ended up telling him everything that had happened, and wound up sobbing through most of it, but eventually fell asleep curled up against his side again.

He smiled as he began to drift off as well, feeling like the luckiest man alive to have his Sunshine back where she belonged - with him.


End file.
